Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

ebossert The first time I watched "The Uninvited" (2003, Korea) I thought it was boring. The second time I watched it I thought it was good but needed approximately 20 minutes edited out. Last night I watched it for the third time and was captivated from start to finish. It's truly one of the most effectively depressing films of the past decade, and is essential viewing for lovers of slow-burning, psychological, dramatic horror films with heaping quantities of character development.The key to enjoying this film is to pay attention to the subtle details. Even the most ordinary dialogue is used meaningfully here. These characters have experienced horrific acts of death and violence in their pasts and have also experienced dysfunctional relationships with others. These dysfunctional relationships are communicated in a fragmented, nonchronological manner that's similar to most East Asian horror films. There's also some slight ambiguity, but only in little patches that can be filled quite easily with some common sense and logic. It's important to achieve that understanding though, because absent this understanding the viewer will never be able to appreciate the characters' suffering nor the motivations for their actions. And let me tell you, these are some of the most gloomy, disheartened, and interesting characters you'll ever see.The acting is what we've come to expect from South Korea, first rate. Ji-hyun Jun gives one of the best performances of her entire career. She's utterly convincing in an atypical, dark role that establishes her diverse acting range once and for all. Her depression isn't presented in a typical, psychotic, over-the-top manner. It's a very restrained exhibition, even in those few cases where she suffers a mental breakdown of sorts. The film uses her character's interaction with others, a steady tone, and a longer running time (2 full hours) to slowly but surely communicate her despair to the viewer. It's impossible not to sympathize with her and hope for her recovery. The quality of acting doesn't begin and end with Ji-hyun though. Everyone comes off looking well here.Another important point to make is that the entire foundation of this film is human suffering inflicted by humans. Contrary to what one might expect, there's really no ghostly activity present at all. Even the opening 30 minutes, which makes the film seem like it's going to travel oft-explored ghostly themes, can be interpreted as entirely psychological. Almost all of the horror sequences focus on disturbing historical events involving horrific accidents or murders that are presented in disturbing ways despite the absence of graphic violence. It might seem like an oxymoron to say that "The Uninvited" has more balls than the slew of vacation torture movies of recent years, but it really does trump those movies in pure guts because the acts of violence here are inflicted upon very fragile, defenseless victims. Some sequences are, in fact, jaw-dropping because most filmmakers (and their producers) are too timid to show such things.This is a damn good film that somehow fell between the cracks during the oft-referenced (but not entirely accurate) period known as the "hey day" of Asian horror (circa 1998-2005). I never hear it mentioned or referenced, but it deserves more attention than overrated, boring tripe like "Gozu" (2003). Watch both films and it's fairly obvious that "The Uninvited" is the better of the two in almost every conceivable aspect of film-making.

zzoaozz This movie is full of death. Death of children, death of cats, justified death, unfair death, death covered up, death revealed.It's the story of man who should be happy with his life but at its very peak events begin to move around him opening up a past best left forgotten and a gift that is more of a curse.There is nothing happy in this movie, no good endings to anyone or for anyone, but it is well woven and absorbing, it reaches right into the darkest places in your own mind and resonates with the despair you keep hidden away there.Most people will hate it, those that fear the darkness in themselves. But those who like to drag the shadows into the light and study them with curiosity will love this movie.

Mafco Mafco Wow this movie disappointed me so much, I love Korean horror movies but this movie is falsely marketed as a horror i.m.o. I had high expectations after reading some reviews, but Uninvited is just emotional drama with a few super national elements. It doesn't even try to be scary. It starts out great with those two kids, but at the end it just went on and on in slow motion, even after it was more than obvious what the point of the movie was. The story went into a direction which seems dull to me. I liked the visual style and I have nothing against drama or a slightly confusing plot in a Korean horror movie such as in A Tale of two sisters, but Uninvited really isn't horror although the back of the DVD case promises the viewer a chilling horror movie. I respect peoples opinion for liking it but horror fans beware!

wkduffy Unlike some other reviewers, I would--and do--situate this film squarely in the horror genre. But it is not the horror of fantasy, of stalkers, slashers, or monsters. A film like this strips away all the puffed-up dread of penciled-in characters like Michael Meyers or Jason Vorhees. No, this film tells the quiet yet overpowering horror of isolation and anonymity in a monolithic, dysfunctional metropolis that is lined with gray high-rise apartments like massive grave-markers; it tells of the horrible numbness and sadness that can lead a mother to drop her wriggling infant child from a 40-story balcony and not even realize what she's done. It shows the horrible reality of another child flattened almost nonchalantly by a dump-truck with a loud pop--but none of the onlookers can rise above their depression (or economic oppression) long enough to even lend a hand. Hence, the infant corpse is simply swept into a manhole and covered over. Now, that's horror. This movie tells the story of many different kinds of horror: the horror of being trapped in a marriage you don't want, the horror of not being believed when you speak, the horror of being belittled and dismissed.This is a strong and sad movie. But it is a sympathetic movie. It tells of the horrors that can happen when you squarely face your past, as many of the characters do in this film. I've found myself coming back to "4 Inyong shiktak" in my mind again and again, relentlessly. If you give yourself over to it, you will not be able to dismiss (or even forget) the images and the tone of this film. Several times this movie made me--a longtime jaded horror movie buff--actually catch my breath, clench my teeth, and shake my head in wonder.Lastly, the photography in this film is remarkable. Pay special attention to the opening shot of the lighted subway bridge stretching across the dark water, or the constant and overpowering grayness of the monolithic skyscrapers shrouded in an eternal fog. There is so much art here. Yes, the plot is typically convoluted (which has been my experience with many Asian horror films--I think it is evidence of a cultural gap more than anything). However, I do not hesitate calling this film a modern horror masterpiece in just about every respect.